Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Restic VS BackupPC

Compare Restic VS BackupPC and see what are their differences

Restic logo Restic

Easy: Doing backups should be a frictionless process, otherwise you are tempted to skip it.

BackupPC logo BackupPC

BackupPC is a high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up Linux, WinXX and MacOSX PCs...
  • Restic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-22
  • BackupPC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-20

Restic features and specs

  • Deduplication
    Restic has built-in deduplication, which ensures that only unique data is stored, reducing backup size and saving storage space.
  • Encryption
    Restic provides top-notch encryption (AES-256 and RSA-4096 by default), ensuring data security during storage and transfer.
  • Cross-platform
    Restic is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows, providing flexibility and ease of use across different environments.
  • Efficient Backups
    Restic performs incremental backups, ensuring that only changes made since the last backup are saved, which makes the process faster and conserves bandwidth.
  • Simplicity
    Restic is designed to be easy to use with a straightforward command-line interface, reducing the learning curve for new users.
  • Multiple Storage Backends
    Restic supports a variety of storage backends, including local disk, SFTP, Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Microsoft Azure, providing versatility and options for users.
  • Open Source
    Restic is open-source, allowing users to review the source code, contribute to the project, and avoid vendor lock-in.

Possible disadvantages of Restic

  • No Graphical User Interface (GUI)
    Restic primarily relies on a command-line interface. Users who prefer a GUI may find it less accessible or user-friendly.
  • No Granular Scheduling
    Restic does not have built-in scheduling capabilities, requiring users to set up their own cron jobs or use third-party scheduling tools for automated backups.
  • Learning Curve
    Users unfamiliar with command-line tools may find Restic's interface challenging to learn and use effectively.
  • Limited Restore Features
    While Restic is excellent at creating backups, it has fewer options for granular or flexible restore operations compared to some competitors.
  • Performance Issues on Large Repositories
    Although efficient, Restic can experience performance degradation when handling very large repositories, potentially slowing down backup and restore operations.

BackupPC features and specs

  • Open Source
    BackupPC is open source, meaning it is free to use and its source code is publicly available, allowing users to modify it to suit their needs.
  • Cost-Effective
    Since it is open-source software, there are no licensing costs associated with using BackupPC, which makes it a cost-effective solution for individuals and businesses.
  • Platform Independence
    BackupPC is a web-based application and can be deployed on various operating systems, including Linux, Solaris, and Windows through Cygwin.
  • Data Deduplication
    It efficiently uses storage space by eliminating duplicate files across backups, saving significant disk space and improving storage efficiency.
  • Comprehensive Web Interface
    BackupPC provides a user-friendly web interface that allows users to easily configure backups, view logs, and restore files.
  • Flexible Backup Options
    It supports different methods of backup, such as rsync, tar, and smb, providing flexibility in how data is backed up.

Possible disadvantages of BackupPC

  • Complex Setup
    BackupPC requires a complex setup and configuration process, which can be difficult for users without technical expertise.
  • Resource Intensive
    The system can be resource-intensive, potentially requiring significant CPU and RAM, especially with large datasets or when deduplication is heavily used.
  • Limited Support
    Being a community-driven open-source project, BackupPC lacks formal support, which might be a challenge for users needing immediate help.
  • Web Interface Limitations
    While the web interface is comprehensive, it might not be as polished or intuitive as some commercial backup solutions, which could hinder ease of use.
  • No Real-Time Backup
    BackupPC does not support real-time backups; it is more suited to scheduled backups, which might not meet the needs of all users.
  • Compatibility Concerns
    There might be compatibility issues with newer technologies or operating systems as the project relies on community updates.

Analysis of Restic

Overall verdict

  • Restic is considered a good choice for individuals or organizations seeking secure and efficient backup solutions. Its performance, combined with strong encryption and cross-platform support, makes it a reliable option. However, like any tool, it depends on user needs and specific backup requirements. Some users may find that advanced configurations require more manual setup compared to more commercial solutions.

Why this product is good

  • Restic is a free and open-source backup software that is appreciated for its simplicity, security, and cross-platform capability. It's designed with a focus on being easy to use, while providing fast and secure backups. One of its key features is encryption, ensuring that all the data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Additionally, it supports deduplication, which helps in minimizing storage space usage efficiently. Restic also offers support for multiple storage backends, including local disks, SFTP servers, major cloud providers, and more.

Recommended for

  • Individuals looking for a simple and secure backup solution
  • Small to medium-sized businesses needing cross-platform backup options
  • IT professionals who prefer open-source software
  • Users who require data deduplication to save on storage costs
  • Developers and system administrators who prefer command-line tools

Restic videos

Making Backups From The Linux Command Line: Restic Review

More videos:

  • Review - Using Restic for backups - Quick and Easy

BackupPC videos

No BackupPC videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Restic and BackupPC)
Backup
100 100%
0% 0
File Sharing And Backup
82 82%
18% 18
Backup & Restore
0 0%
100% 100
Cloud Storage
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Restic and BackupPC

Restic Reviews

25 Outstanding Backup Utilities for Linux Systems in 2020
Restic is a free open source, efficient, easy-to-use, fast and secure command-line based backup program. It is designed to secure backup data against attackers, in any kind of storage environment.
Source: www.tecmint.com

BackupPC Reviews

The Best Free Backup Software and Why it is Difficult to Find One
BackupPC is a simple yet effective cross-platform backup tool that offers high performance and can work with all of the different types of operating systems. Aside from its main purpose of creating backups of multiple client instances to a server, it also offers a convenient web interface, data deduplication capabilities, as well as data compression, flexible configuration,...
Source: www.bacula.org
The Top 17 Free and Open Source Backup Solutions
BackupPC is a fully cross-platform tool that can run on all operating systems, which is designed for enterprise use. The provider supports full file compression and uses a small amount of disk space. Additionally, BackupPC doesn’t need any client-side software to run. According to its website, the vendor is licensed under the GPLv3. The solution is freely available as open...
11 Best Linux Backup Solutions
It is a cross-platform backup enterprise-level software that is available Windows, Mac OS X and also Linux. It is a high-performance client and server backup tool. BackupPC can be used to backup Linux and Windows based systems to a master server’s disk. BackupPC is suitable for both servers and desktops. It supports full and incremental backups, allows for file compression...
25 Outstanding Backup Utilities for Linux Systems in 2020
It is a cross-platform backup software that can run on Unix/Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. It is designed for enterprise-level use with a high-performance measure. BackupPC can be used on servers, desktop, and laptop computers.
Source: www.tecmint.com
Seven Must Have Open Source Tools For Backup and Recovery
BackupPC is a high-performance, highly configurable, enterprise-grade system which supports disk to disk backup and it has an online based front end. It is easy to install and maintain. It runs on UNIX or Linux based server and on Solaris. Here the server acts like a client as it supports different protocols which are native in client operating system.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Restic seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 187 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Restic mentions (187)

  • Ask HN: What project do you donate to?
    It's mostly what I use daily or a lot (except one these are not recurring; I will try to make these recurring once I am financially there again): - https://objective-see.org/support.html - https://www.thunderbird.net/donate (I hope none of it goes to Mozilla or Firefox. I also hope https://thundermail.com brings something than I can instead pay for, if I can or will decide to afford, instead of intermittent... - Source: Hacker News / 12 days ago
  • Hold My Data
    Run restic to backup an entire filesystem or a subset of it, and upload to a remote S3-compatible storage. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Backblaze seemingly does not support files greater than 1 TB
    Restic is my personal favorite for straightforward file backups. It's simple and well-designed, integrates with rclone meaning it supports any cloud storage service you can imagine, and has a decently large community surrounding it. https://restic.net/ https://github.com/rubiojr/awesome-restic. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Simple backup service with rclone, restic and systemd on WebDAV (or another storage)
    Let me show you how I back up my computers with restic and rclone using simple systemd configuration. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: What is your approach for managing personal digital assets?
    I religiously use Google contacts. It's the simplest way to keep people contacts up to date on Android. I archive all important documents in specific folders by subject and date. This is backed up to back blaze with restic. https://restic.net/ I use https://ente.io for pictures. I convinced my wife to use it, and she agreed to auto share her photos so I don't nag her for copies. It had simple import from Facebook... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

BackupPC mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of BackupPC yet. Tracking of BackupPC recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Restic and BackupPC, you can also consider the following products

Duplicati - Free backup software to store backups online with strong encryption. Works with FTP, SSH, WebDAV, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Google Drive and many others.

Bacula - Bacula is a set of Open Source, enterprise ready, computer programs that permit you (or the system...

UrBackup - UrBackup is a open source client/server backup system, that through a combination of image and file...

Rclone - rsync for cloud storage.

Duplicacy - A new generation cross-platform cloud backup tool

rsync - rsync is a file transfer program for Unix systems. rsync uses the "rsync algorithm" which provides a very fast method for bringing remote files into sync.